In the wake of the Rudd government's humiliating defeat, shattered Labor MPs have begun picking up the pieces from the loss in which the party's primary vote dipped below 34 per cent for the first time in 80 years with the loss of at least 15 seats.

The result is seen as voters' harsh judgment on the years of division between Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd, and those MPs remaining have expressed a desire to put such conflict behind them.

It comes as finger pointing began about who was to blame for Labor's poor campaign.

ALP national secretary and campaign director George Wright has declared his intention to remain in the position as Labor rebuilds after the defeat.

''We're in a position where we can be a strong opposition and I want to be part of that and lead the organisation through that,'' Mr Wright told Fairfax Media.

He took ''absolute responsibility'' for Labor's conduct of the campaign, he said, playing down reports of tensions between campaign headquarters and Mr Rudd's travelling party.

While Mr Wright has faced criticism, including from outgoing Northern Territory senator Trish Crossin, Labor's marginal seat campaign has been credited with minimising its losses, especially in Queensland and western Sydney.

The anti-government swing in Labor's four most marginal Victorian seats was 3.9 per cent, compared with a 6.8 per cent average in the next seven most marginal seats.

Mr Wright said Labor's field campaign involved 10,000 volunteers who made 1.2 million phone calls and knocked on half a million doors, a massive increase on the last campaign.

''Organisationally, I think we are in a better position than when I took on the job and we've just got to build from here,'' Mr Wright said.

Mr Shorten has long been considered a future leader of the Labor Party. Even before he entered Parliament in 2007 he was spoken of as a possible future prime minister.

His stocks received a significant boost in June when Greg Combet, also considered a potential leader in the post-Rudd/Gillard era, resigned from politics after the return of Kevin Rudd to the prime ministership.

Mr Albanese has emerged as a leadership contender only in recent days but he is popular among the Labor faithful and is regarded as its best parliamentary performer.

Mr Shorten was one of Ms Gillard's key numbers men when she wrested the prime ministership from Mr Rudd. In 2013, the Workplace Relations Minister switched his support back to Mr Rudd half an hour before the Labor caucus voted to dump Ms Gillard, describing it as a ''terrible decision'' that was in the best interests of the Labor Party.